Kyrgyzstan Fact File

Kyrgyzstan is a very beautiful landlocked Country located in Central Asia, between China to the South and Russia to the North. The most dominating geographical features that appear throughout the entire Country are the visually stunning snow capped Tien Shan mountain range and the endless grassy rolling plains, valleys and basins. The climate is dry (Continental) on the Plains to snowy polar conditions in the mountainous regions, the south-westerley Fergana Valley is Sub-Tropical. Kyrgyzstan certainly has a varied and interesting range of weather conditions, which makes it a very interesting and adventurous place to visit for a adventure holiday trekking experience.

The Kyrgyz are traditionally Nomadic and are generally a very friendly welcoming hospitable people, if your lucky you may find yourself being treated to a local delicacy reserved for special guests such as a bowl of fresh yoghurt or maybe some fermented mares milk, which makes a refreshing drink and is very nutritious. The Nomadic traditions are not a thing of the past and the Kyrgyz are passionate about their horses which are to be found everywhere you go, a favourite Kyrgyz pastime is the game of Kok Boru. The game entails Kyrgyz males on horseback fiercely competing for possession of a headless goat carcass by wrestling with one another while still mounted on horseback., the game is fast and furious and is quite a spectacle that the crowds love to watch and cheer on their favourite rider. Another keen interest is birds of prey particularly the Falcon and Eagle, if you visit Kyrgyzstan you may get the chance to go hunting Rabbits with a trained Eagle.

Economy

There are a wealth of natural resources that are exported, Electricity (from hydro power), large deposits of Gold are a major export which the economy relies on heavily as well as other rare earth metals, Coal, Oil, Natural Gas and deposits of Mercury, Uranium, Bismuth (which is used in pharmaceuticals, pigments, and cosmetics), Nepheline (mostly used in the production of glass and ceramics), Lead and Zinc. Agriculture is the dominant sector producing wool, and meat for the internal economy and exporting mostly cotton & tobacco.

Political History

From 1876 most of Kyrgyzstan was part of Russian territory, the Kyrgyz stood up to the Russians in 1916 and paid heavily in casualties losing 1/6th of the population. From 1936 to 1991 Kyrgyzstan was a republic of the former Soviet Union. When the USSR dissolved in 1991 they finally got their independence and became the Kyrgyz Republic, although elections did not occur until 2005 after widespread unrest and the ousting of the unelected Government. The elections of 2009 were considered to be flawed when the existing President was re-elected. In 2010 violent demonstrations resulted in the overthrow of the Government leadership and the election of a new leader in 2011. Democratization of the Country is an ongoing process. Unemployment is around 14.5% in a population of 5,534 million people. The Kyrgyzstan flag has a red background which is symbolic of bravery and courage of the Kyrgyz. The flag is emblazoned with a yellow sun with forty rays and a red ring crossed by two pairs of three lines, which represents a “Tunduk” a crown worn by a traditional Kyrgyzstan “Yurt”. The other side of the flag shows the sun rays running counterclockwise, the sun promotes peace and wealth to the nation.

Language & Religion

Around 98.7% of the population are literate and the two official languages are Kyrgyz spoken by 64% of people, and Russian which is spoken by 12.5%, other languages include Uzbek 13.8% and Dungun 1%. The majority religion is Muslim 75%, Russian Orthodox 20% and 5% other religions.